First-period analysis: Red Wings 1, Blues 0

ST. LOUIS – The regular season finale between the Red Wings and Blues figures to be a grind-fest, with so many players missing from both sides.

And that’s how it’s started. The first period was tight-checking and physical (St. Louis with 7-4 edge in shots.) The Red Wings lead 1-0 on Justin Abdelkader’s ninth goal, as he tipped in a shot by Brian Lashoff after Pavel Datsyuk stole the puck and led the rush.

The banged-up Blues, losers of five in a row, are missing six forwards (David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Tarasenko, Brenden Morrow and Vladimir Sobotka) and defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Barret Jackman.